Colorado Governor Jared Polis (D) on Wednesday argued that reports that the violent Venezuelan gang “Tren de Aragua” had invaded parts of the state were largely the “imagination” of city council members.
Polis issued a statement. South KoreaLocal news outlet The Blaze News reported that a video was shared of gunmen breaking into an Aurora apartment, while another video, apparently taken earlier at the same residence, shows a man using a hammer to break the deadbolt lock on the door.
“Misinformation campaigns jeopardize real criminal investigations.”
News media reported that illegal immigrants had taken over the apartment complex, which has since become a hotbed of criminal activity, including violent shootouts.
Aurora City Councilman Daniel Jurinski recently Fox News Digital Gang-related crime is on the rise in the Denver metropolitan area.
The Aurora Police Department has formed a task force in response to the TDA's growing presence, but police say the group's influence is “isolated” at this point.
Despite video evidence and police reports of gang activity, Polis maintained the TDA takeover allegations are largely “imagination.”
Shelby Wieman, a spokeswoman for the governor, said: New York Post“The Governor has already advised the Mayor that the State Police and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation are prepared to assist local law enforcement as needed.”
“However, police information indicates that the break-in was largely the product of Daniel Jurinski's imagination,” Mr Polis' spokesman added.
Wieman told The Washington Post that “occupying a building in Colorado is illegal” and that Polis' office was “ready to assist” local law enforcement in reclaiming the building if Jurinski was “knowing” about such actions.
According to Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman (Republican), “we have several buildings that have fallen into the hands of Venezuelan gangs.”
When The Post asked whether Polis' office would retract its previous statements given the overwhelming evidence of the TDA's existence in Aurora, Wieman responded, “The Governor sincerely hopes that responsible City Council members will stop denigrating the city they are supposed to keep safe.”
“Over the past month, Governor Polis has been in regular contact with the City of Aurora and the Aurora Police Department and has offered statewide assistance to assist in their efforts, if requested,” Wieman said.
“My question to the governor is, is this also a figment of the Romero family's imagination?” Jurinski told Fox News Digital.
Cindy and Edward Romero, former residents of the Aurora apartment complex where armed men were seen on security cameras breaking into their building, called living there a “nightmare” and reported that their car was riddled with bullets in a shootout this month before they moved out.
“There are people behind this who are only interested in politics,” Jurinski said. “It's so sad because these are real people just like the Romero family who are suffering behind their doors, four deadbolts and a doorpost, living in fear every day in this complex.”
“Overall, it's a very positive thing that people are actually seeing what's going on,” she continued. “The video footage is undeniable not just to the governor of Colorado, but others across the country are seeing this with their own eyes as well.”
“We know that violent crime in Aurora decreased from 2022 to 2023, and we fully expect the data to show a further decrease in 2024. Additionally, the recent misinformation campaign has the potential to jeopardize real crime investigations and create a worsening environment for small businesses in Aurora,” Wieman told the news outlet.
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